Day 7: My Son

Ash sat in his waiting chair, constantly fiddling with his fingers. Seven hours had passed, and with each one, he only grew more and more anxious, especially whenever he heard May scream in agony.

"I should be in there with her," he said.

"You've said that a dozen times, Ash," Professor Kukui said, sitting in a chair across from him.

"Because I should!" Ash replied. "I've never seen her in so much pain before, and I hate that I can't do anything about it!"

"I understand," Kukui nodded. "I felt the same way when Burnet went into labor. They had me sit outside for 12 hours. I'd never felt so helpless in my life."

"I just don't understand," Ash groaned, putting his head in his hands. "It's not like this is just her child. It's our child. So shouldn't I be in there helping her out?" Kukui looked at him, and although he knew the soon-to-be father was genuinely concerned for his child's well-being, he could tell that that was the last thing on Ash's mind; he was concerned for his wife right now.

"I don't know why they don't let the father in when the mother is giving birth," Kukui admitted, "but I do know that May's a strong young woman, and she's in good hands. The nurses did an excellent job guiding Burnet, and they're gonna do it again with May. Besides," he went on, putting his hand on Ash's arm reassuringly, "Burnet's in there with her right now. Trust me: May's gonna be fine."

"I hope you're right," he sighed, leaning back in his chair. Kukui just smiled and shook his head; he saw so much of himself in Ash right now, and if the young champion was as good a husband and father as the professor was, then he knew that their future would be bright.

Another hour passed, and May's screams of agony only seemed to grow worse and worse. This just made Ash even more nervous, but he did everything he could to stay calm. Kukui had never steered him wrong before (except for the whole Masked Royal thing, but he didn't mind that too much), so he trusted him when he said May would be all right.

Finally, the door to the hallway opened, and Burnet came out. Ash shot up from his seat. "How is she?!" he asked frantically. "Is she hurt?! Did anything go wrong?! Please tell me she's okay!"

"Don't worry, Ash!" Burnet chuckled. "May is fine. She's a little tired, but she couldn't be better."

"Can I see her?" he asked, not missing a beat.

"Of course," she said, giving him the room number. He took one glance at it, then quickly walked down the hall, frantically searching for her room. Burnet and Kukui just watched him, smiling softly at each other. "He's just the same way you were when we had Lee," she chuckled.

"I know," Kukui nodded. "And I'm really proud of him."

"Me too."

"Room 1118," Ash muttered, frantically scanning each and every room he passed. "Where's Room 1118?! Ugh! I should've asked her to show me the way!" He continued walking through the hall until he came to a place where the numbers started going in the direction he wanted. "1114...1116...Aha! 1118!" He opened the door and walked in. There, lying in bed, was his wife. A small bundle of cloth rested on her chest as she turned to him and gave a tired but happy smile.

"Hi, Ash," she smiled at him.

"May!" Ash said, walking up to her and kneeling down to talk to her. "Oh man, I was so worried. I heard you screaming, and I wanted to come help, but they wouldn't let me. Are you all right? Please tell me you're okay!"

"Never been better," May replied, her voice barely above a whisper. Despite her fatigue, her smile never wavered as she softly stroked the bundle on her chest. Ash was about to say something, but he turned and looked at what she was holding. His eyes went wide and his throat dried up when he saw that it wasn't just cloth she was holding.

It was their baby.

He completely forgot everything he was about to say as he stared in wonder at the newborn child. May giggled softly and pulled herself up on the bed. "Here," she said, holding her son to him. "Hold him."

"A-Ah, May, I'm not good at handling -" Ash started to say, but she didn't seem to hear him as she placed the baby in his arms. Once again, his thoughts were wiped away as he stared, awestruck. The baby was wrapped tight in warm cloth, a small beanie on his head. His tiny eyes were closed; he was asleep. His mouth moved around slightly, as though he were dreaming, and briefly curved into a smile. Ash felt his heart melt as he realized just what he was holding.

When he smiles I am undone.

"My...son," he whispered, tears forming in his eyes. He sniffled, but as his arms were occupied at the moment, he couldn't bring them up to wipe away the small tears falling down his face. May giggled again and gently took their son from his arms, allowing him to reach up and wipe the tears away.

"Well?" she asked, her smile never faltering.

"I…" Ash started to say, but he just felt his eyes watering again. After a moment, he shook his head, the biggest smile imaginable on his face. "I don't know what to say."

"Well, some joys in life can't be expressed in words," May said, her voice regaining some of its usual energy. They gazed at their child lovingly for a moment. Then he turned to her, looking slightly guilty.

"I was so worried about you," he said. She turned to him, curious. "I spent the last eight hours terrified that something bad was gonna happen to you. I could barely sit still." He turned back to gaze at his newborn child. "And yet...all that time...I should've been just as worried about our son." He brought his arm up and wiped away a few more tears.

"Are you worried that this might carry over into fatherhood?" May asked with a smile.

"I...I don't know," he admitted, looking down. May just sighed and put her hand on his cheek, lifting him up to gaze back into her eyes.

"It's gonna be an adjustment for both of us," she said, "but I can't think of anyone in the world who would be a better father than you, Ash." He returned her smile a moment, then leaned forward and gave her a brief kiss before pulling back and looking at his child with her.

It was the birth of a beautiful new family.

No, I'm not a father. I'm nowhere near that right now. But I DID become an uncle for the first time this week, and I couldn't be happier!

Well, that's it for this year. I'd say this is a satisfactory collection of one shots. Not sure if they're up to snuff with my standards, but to be honest, I just don't care right now. I'm just happy to be writing again; you may recall from my last story that I've only just started writing again after a year and a half of change. This month is also NaNoWriMo, which usually means "Write a Novel in a Month." I'm not sure that's something I'm on board with, so I decided to do something a little different: rather than write one story in 30 days, I decided to just do some form of writing every day this month. Of course I've missed a few days, but I'd say I've been pretty consistent overall, and that makes me very happy.

So what did you think? Feel free to rate and review; just make sure your review follows the guidelines set on my profile (don't worry, most reviews I get do. I just set those because some people don't understand the concept of constructive criticism).

One more thing before I end this: While I was waiting for voting to open for Advanceshipping Week, I started working on another short story. It's not quite finished yet, but it's almost there. I'm planning to have it up in the next week or two. Like I said: it feels good to be writing again.

With that, thanks for reading, and I'll catch ya later!

Happy Advanceshipping Day!